[That tiny slip alone was the result of a culmination of Weeks of nonsense honestly, so ENJOY IT WHILE IT LASTS CHUUYA it's there and gone in a flash, crushed in his mighty fist of repression.
He reaches forward so he can gently flick Chuuya's ears, but when his head is resting on his shoulder, he'll at least be kind and pet his head instead.]
I know, I know! You're so dutiful, haha. Everyone should feel a little safer just knowing you're working so hard for us! And you're probably right about that, too - you're undead only in name and technicality, certainly not in function.
[what if he just actively tries to make that happen again (chuuya NO.)
for now, at least, he's content to use wei wuxian as a head pillow, arms wrapped around him once more. i am a fuckin fool who forgot he's in chuuya's lap and therefore his head's maybe on his chest instead bc he's a small gremlin what's their height difference again...
i looked it up & yeah this is a chest pillow situation. as much as it can be, with a twink.]
Don't get me wrong, I'm not necessarily doing it for all of you... but I want to get home, and there are definitely some of you I wouldn't want to ditch here. I'm just doing my job to make sure that happens.
He seems content to just be a twink pillow to Chuuya in the meantime, at least. It puts Chuuya at the perfect height for top-of-the-head kisses!! His cute ears get a little nibble too because he has no self control and would prefer to dote on this dumb tiny furry than fall into an endless pit of boiling rage at their entire situation. It's fine.]
Mm, right, right, I'm sure! How terrible and selfish of you, Chuu, only doing this because you want to get home and perhaps save a few of us along the way. What a villainous heart you have!
[HE'S SO... CUTE... Like a little angry tsun chihuahua, except a chihuahua that can also kick too many asses.]
[He WILL spoil Chuuya!! Even when he has to stop nibbling his ears so he can keep talking, he'll just raise his hands up so he can pet and rub and gently scratch them instead.]
Haha, goodness - you really are set on that, aren't you?
[With "that" being "defending your image" but LIKE A SHIT, HE REFUSES TO CLARIFY. Terrible question, though!]
Well! An old friend of mine and I are in the middle of dealing with quite an unpleasant man who's been causing more than his fair share of trouble among the sects. Should be handled soon enough, though!
[Is that what he meant? Yes? No? That's the angle Wei Wuxian is going to tackle this question from, haha!]
[DON'T CALL HIM OUT!! He's quiet for a second, considering, as he gently traces the very edge of one of Chuuya's ears, hoping to get it to flick.]
—Well! First of all, I need to figure out why exactly Mo Xuanyu dragged me back into the living world. It's my responsibility to take care of aforementioned unpleasant man, too, since I somehow managed to get wrapped up in that mess - though I have a feeling the two are related.
[it does flick! they're sensitive please let him live... but he still likes it. fox purr is happening.]
...mm. So someone pulled you back after you died...? If it just got you dragged into trouble-- must have wanted something out of you. That's usually the motivation behind things.
[He will not let Chuuya live, nope. He's endeared by the purring!! It only encourages him to continue! Though he'll pause every so often to gently pet down their centers instead.]
Haha - ah, no, no, it was nothing personal whatsoever. He just wanted someone to kill his clan! The summoning ritual he used was one I invented, intended to call forth spirits categorized as extremely sinister ghouls.
[Like
himself.]
But I suspect he was a pawn in a much larger plan.
Terrible, isn't it? My reputation was so poor that I ended up being classified as one!
[OR MAYBE IT WAS THE LITERAL THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HE MURDERED IN COLD BLOOD either way...
Also he. Pulls back a little at that, because hey what the fuck he's already being honest, might as well just throw that card on the table, too. Two people already know about it anyway, it's fine.]
I'm not! Though my original body is long gone, haha. The ritual is a sacrificial one in which the summoner gives up their body to the particular malicious spirit they call for. Their soul is destroyed, but the spirit is bound by contract to grant their dying wish.
I mean, I can see how it would have been, but... it still sounds like bullshit to me. You're not extremely sinister.
["chuuya you don't have all the facts" he has the facts he needs, which are that he's known wwx a few weeks now and while he's weird and has definitely done some extreme revenge in the past... look, sometimes other people Deserve It. chuuya doesn't think he's the true evil type.
also chuuya is fucking biased.]
So it's likely something he did as a last-ditch sort of effort, if it would have destroyed his soul... I can get being pushed to that point, I guess. Giving yourself up for someone or something stronger to do what you can't... well, you've pretty much seen me do that already.
[chuuya uses corruption, of course he's like "that's legit", I hate it.]
And if you don't manage to grant that wish... then what?
[CHUUYA IS REALLY FUCKING BIASED and Wei Wuxian actually - feels a pang of guilt, similar to what he feels when Beck talks about how grateful she is to know him. The guilt of understanding that, by omission of his crimes, he's painting a picture of himself that just isn't accurate. A picture that people seem to, for some reason, genuinely like. Bad!
But he just laughs a little, gently tweaking one of Chuuya's ears.]
Mm, well, it is what it is! And Mo Xuanyu was in a pretty rough situation himself, so I can understand why he may have felt pushed to his limits. [His fingers move, gently tugging on Chuuya's bangs instead.] —Similar for you, then?
[As for the question:]
The spirit that can't grant its host's wish will have its soul destroyed by the curse activated upon its summoning. [HE JUST FUCKIN INVENTED THIS SHIT.] But I fulfilled my end a long time ago.
Sort of. What you saw in that memory was-- my ability's something separate from me. I wasn't born with it. Corruption is what happens when I allow it to take over, but it's too much power for my body to sustain... so it's effectively the same trade-off. The difference is that so far, I've had it disabled before it could kill me.
[he lets his bangs be tugged, both his hands burying themselves in wei wuxian's hair, idly toying with it.]
...hey. If you invented something like that-- it wasn't because you wanted to use it yourself, right?
[Hm. Bad!! All of this is bad! His brow furrows a little and he tugs on Chuuya's bangs again, but a little more insistently this time, because there's one part he wants to address before the rest.]
And you said that the person who can disable it isn't your partner anymore, right? [ANOTHER TUG.] So I'm sure you're being as cautious as possible given your position, hm?
[Though at the question, his head cants to the side.]
I'm being as cautious as I can afford to be. If the boss needs me to do something, and it's the only way... I've already accepted it's how I'm most likely to die. For all I know, having an implanted Ability will kill me anyway.
[he doesn't have high hopes for his life expectancy, okay-- but he agreed to give mori his body and blood. he won't complain.
chuuya does swat his hand away at the tugging, though, let him live...! he does at least look relieved at wei wuxian's answer after.]
Good to know you didn't have the same plan, though. It's fine if it was for others to use.
[Chuuya is a foole for giving him even one single out honestly because of course he's immediately taking the chance to flip the conversation. Also, he's legitimately concerned?? FOR MANY REASONS.]
Is that not common where you come from? Having an implanted ability... Things like that don't exist in my world either way, and the only other similar place I've heard all gained theirs through an outside force.
[His hand may have been swatted but it's BACK WITH A VENGEANCE-- Though this time he just smooths Chuuya's hair down, at least.]
You talk pretty lightly of your own life for someone who scolds others for doing the same, you know!
Most of us with abilities are born with them. I was just an experiment.
[he shrugs! but the hair touching is allowed, it seems.]
-and look, I just don't have any illusions about it, all right? My ability's wiped out a lot of enemy groups. Most of them can't touch me, but organized crime's not really built for longevity... besides, we're all there for the boss to use.
[He sure isn't pleased to hear any of this, and he's not much happier over the way Chuuya delivers it. Sometimes you just gotta call a shitty thing like it is and move on with your life, but that doesn't mean he can't be upset on Chuuya's behalf!!]
...Well! You've made it this far and this long, haven't you? Surely that says something about your luck and fortitude.
[Ah, optimism. Whether or not he actually believes it to be true is up in the air, but it can't hurt to just toss it out into the open and hope some merciful god hears and considers making it true!]
Though I do wish better than that for you - better than just relying on fortune.
[About being someone trustworthy - someone worth leaning on in any capacity at all. It's not in his nature to fail those who lean on him, even if it tends to happen despite his best efforts.
anyway somewhere in the distance, lan zhan is getting ready to bust through time and space to murder chuuya on the spot. He, on the other hand, is dumb of ass.]
I can still find a way to visit, don't give up so easily! I want you to see Yunmeng, too, you know - or Gusu! Caiyi City has some of the best restaurants in the whole region!
I will, I will! Don't think for a second I'd leave you alone if I have the chance to come bother you!
[SAID WITH A GRIN but, hm? Hm?? He's peak dumbass but even someone as dense as he is couldn't miss the way Chuuya is watching him, touching his face so tenderly. Granted, noticing it and being able to figure out what the fuck it means are two... different things... And it's probably clear from expression alone that he's just like ??? about this. (wei wuxian as kagachi voice) what could this man possibly want]
Haha, well! Can't say I get to hear that one often. [Or ever!] But with luck it won't be a long goodbye, at least. I'm not a fan of those sorts of goodbyes, myself.
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